Don’t assume you know your ancestor’s port of entry into the United States. While some ports of entry may be more likely than others based upon the time period and the general area of the United States where your ancestor settled, there may be things about your ancestor’s migration of which you are unaware and any of those details could have impacted their port of arrival.
Where was the ancestor originally going to settle, look for work, establish himself, etc.? That may not be where they ended up or where they spent the majority of their life. You may not even really be aware of that location. Families don’t always tell everything or even remember everything. No one may want to mention that great-grandpa tried making a living in Chicago but gave it up and headed to California.
This is one reason why it’s important to research your ancestor as completely in the area of settlement as possible before trying to “cross the pond.” There may be clues to their arrival port in their earlier records in the country to which they immigrated. Those clues won’t be found if you try to pond cross the minute you discover your ancestor was an immigrant.
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